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May 24, 2014

WEEKEND WARRIORS' MATHEMATICAL MAY - MATH BOOTCAMP

Happy Weekend teachers!!! And, it's a long one to boot - YIPPEEEEEE!!! On that note, I am excited to report that I am teaming up with a wonderful crew of bloggers to bring you a monthly series. They are called the Weekend Warriors and I will be jumping in from time to time :) This month's theme is a fun one for sure . . . Mathematical May.

Alright my friends . . . if you are still at it in the teaching department, you know that we are officially in the "dog days." The afternoons feel extra long and the kids are starting to really check out on ya, but you still have 3 weeks left. Sigh. Well, I just so happened to pull something out of my bum last week that ended up being rather cool. Figured I'd share it will all you alls :)Let me explain. We have been trying to review all of those tough math concepts these past few weeks before we jump into assessments. Well, one afternoon in particular the kids were so checked out they couldn't even tell me what the answer to a subtraction problem is called. #epicfail #differencekiddosdifferenceAfter getting over the initial disappointment, an idea popped into my head and I decided to give it a go. I told them to wait a minute and I slipped into the middle room to grab a present that Santa had brought me. {It just so happens that St. Nick was a teacher too . . . thanks mom}. Yup. I grabbed my bullhorn and transformed into a Math Drill Sargent. I switched that puppy on and introduced their new teacher. {The kids perked up immediately - no one had their head on the desk anymore.}

These are on amazon pretty cheap like $17 bucks. "Santa" got mine at Kohl's.

I had them stand at attention and hollered, "Are you ready math soldiers?!?" I had them respond. "Sir. Yes, sir!" They ate it up and were actually listening to the questions I was asking! We reviewed math standards and solved problems together and individually . . . I'd call on them to call out the answer. They had the best time and so did I. The next day, the drill sergeant was back. However, today was played a little differently. I called on 2-3 different kiddos during the math block to help lead the class. I would guide them, but the head student did all of the "heavy lifting" and they used the bullhorn!! The class was right there with him/her the whole time and we survived another round of math review. The sky is really the limit with this one. You can take this so many directions to keep it "fresh" {incorporate mini white boards into the student responses, transform it into a team game, march around the campus solving problems or skip counting . . . the possibilities are endless.} And, I promise that your sweet little students will love it. Just think on the fly and tie in standards as you go. Oh, and you don't need a bullhorn. It can be done with a megaphone too. You know . . . those cheap plastic ones.

They have these at any local Dollar Store.
I have like 6 of them with High School Musical on them.
We will be using them next week - during a team math drill.
The ideas are already flowing!!

Alright. So that's almost it from me today. It's a random and rather out of the box tidbit, but it just might save the day in late May!!! And, you can bet that my kids remember what the "difference" is . . . yay! Oh yeah . . . and before I go, I am hosting a giveaway to celebrate my first Weekend Warrior post. You can score $10 from my TPT store to spend as you wish :) Simply complete the quick and brainless Rafflecopter below . . . don't worry . . . I made it easy!a Rafflecopter giveawayThanks so much for visiting. I will be back tomorrow with another fun math tip and a freebie! Be sure to check out the rest of the awesome Weekend Warrior hop via the links below!